Mottley: Not there!

Carry the proposed photovoltaic (PV) farm somewhere else.

 

That’s what Leader of the Opposition and Member of Parliament for St. Michael North East, Mia Mottley is telling the Democratic Labour Party Government. In the second hour of her close to three-hour speech in the House of Assembly yesterday evening in response to the Minister of Finance’s Budget on Tuesday, Mottley maintained that the land at Waterford, St. Michael on the site of the National Botanical Gardens managed by the National Conservation Commission (NCC), and next to the Codrington water well which she said is already facing dangerous limits with nitrate, is not the place for the multi-million dollar photovoltaic farm that has been proposed by the Canadian firm, Deltro Solar.

 

She lamented that despite the fact that two governments committed themselves to the establishment of a National Botanical Gardens in that area, the Democratic Labour Party Administration is giving consideration to a Canadian company setting up a solar farm in that area, reducing the green space that would otherwise be available to Barbadians for recreational purposes. Mottley, who is the Parliamentary Representative for that area, said that it is unfortunate that the project is being considered given the potential hazards it poses to the environment and the island’s water supply.

 

“It is not good enough for my constituent to keep cows to sell cows’ milk, but it is now good enough for people to come from over and away and take up 70 of 200 odd acres and put up a photovoltaic farm. I say Sir it is wrong and last year I spoke about it, because I don’t know what the National Conservation Commission is doing signing a power purchase, or wanting to sign a power purchase agreement with the same Deltro. Since when is the NCC a power provider?”

 

She maintained that while she had no difficulty with foreign investors making their mark on Barbados, and in essence had no difficulty with the concept of the solar farm, she felt that Waterford is not the place for such a project. Moreover, she is adamant that any opportunity to develop such a facility should really be afforded to Barbadians, to keep the money here.

 

“But if this Government feels minded to give it a foreign investor, good heavens, not on the botanical farm site! Stand up for something! Stand up 

for something in this 50th year of independence,” she contended.

 

The Opposition Leader also used the opportunity to raise concern about the timing of the townhall meeting on the proposed solar farm, just a few days before the long Crop Over weekend. Furthermore, referring to a scoping study that was done, she bemoaned that document was only available at the NCC or the Public Library, and not online so that all and sundry could see it. Her comments came as she suggested that the scoping study indicated there was no need for an environmental impact assessment (EIA), as that document was sufficient, but Mottley contended that it was not.

 

To that end, the MP maintained that an EIA should be done. She said that if the company also intends to manufacture PV panels for export, it is imperative that an EIA is also done to make sure that employees to work in that plant will not be put at risk.

 

“If you can show that and you can do those things, then we can move forward on that issue,” she stated. (JRT)